Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden has long been one of the jewels in Cape Town's crown and now it is producing an exclusive range of jewellery.
Seven top jewellers were asked to design one-of-a-kind pieces based on the garden's fauna and flora. The collection, called the Crown Jewels, will be auctioned this month.
The project is the brainchild of Chris Reader, a Kirstenbosch botanical society member. He said the idea came to him during the park's centenary celebrations.
"I had a whimsical idea and thought people often refer to the gardens as gems and jewels. It was only when I read a book by Professor Brian Huntley on the garden and the financial struggles [it experiences] that the idea started to form," Reader said.
With the help of Anglo American Corporation and the Jewellery Council of SA, he got seven prestigious jewellers involved in the project - Uwe Koetter, Platandia, Prins and Prins, Peter Gilder, Cari Mari, Vijay Shah and Kirti Jewellers.
The pieces produced include earrings, neckpieces, cuff links, and the pièce de résistance, a platinum tiara made by Rob Burton, of Platandia jewellers, that mimics the shape and colours of the king protea.
Burton also designed a neckpiece inspired by the gardens' guinea fowl.
The goal is to raise at least R10-million at an auction in Kirstenbosch on Tuesday next week, the proceeds of which will go to the children's environmental education programmes at the garden .
The jewels are on display at the Cape Grace Hotel.
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